Receipt for 'Replacement' EAD Okay
Mr. William P. Cook
William P. Cooke & Associates, P.C.
The Amdahl Building, Suite 250
10420 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, Maryland 21044
Dear Mr. Cook:
In your letter dated October 27, 1995, you raised three issues. First, you inquired as to whether receipts can be shown by employees when reverifying their employment authorization. Second, you inquired as to what document application receipts are acceptable. Third, you expressed concern about the extension of work authorization for Salvadoran Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients.
Existing regulations provide that if the employee is unable to provide a required document within three business days of hire, he may present a receipt for the application of a replacement document within three business days of hire. If a receipt is presented, the employee must present the required document within ninety days of his hire. 8 C.F.R. Sec, 274a.2(b)(vi) (1995). The "receipt rule" does not apply when an employer reverifies employment authorization for current employees. The paragraph on page 4 of the Handbook for Employers (M-274) entitled "Reverifying Employment Authorization for Current Employees" reflects the current state of the law. *
Under existing regulations, the only receipts that will satisfy employment verification requirements are those which are "a receipt for the application of the replacement document." 8 C.F.R. Sec. 274a.2(b)(vi) (1995). The individual must be authorized to work at the time of hire. The receipt for application of a replacement document simply serves as evidence that a replacement document evidencing such status has been applied for. A receipt is not acceptable when it is a receipt for an initial application for work authorization or an application for renewal of expired work authorization. The language of the regulation and the Handbook supports your argument that a receipt for application for a replacement document can be submitted for any of the documents in List A, B, or C so long as the receipt is for the application for a replacement document or documents and not for the application for an initial document.
You also expressed concern about the extension of work authorization for Salvadoran DED recipients which expired on April 30, 1996. 61 Fed. Reg. 3053 (January 30, 1996). This notice directed employers to accept a Form I-688B that bears an expiration date of December 31, 1994 and contains the notation "274A.12(A)(11)" or "274A.12(A)(12)." Id. During DED, the employer should have examined the Form I-688B to ensure that it appeared genuine and related to the individual and that it contained the appropriate notations. As of May 1, 1996 employers should not have accepted any expired employment authorization documents. In addition, any employers who previously accepted Salvadoran DED expired employment authorization documents should have reverified the employment eligibility of those employees as of May 1, 1996.
I hope this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
Lori Scialabba
Deputy General Counsel
* It should be noted that the Service has proposed amendments to the current regulations. 60 Fed. Reg. 32472 (to be codified at 8 C.F.R Sec. 274a.2(b)(vi)) (supplemented June 22, 1995).
(Courtesy of William P. Cook)